How to choose a professional alcohol export agent? What qualifications are required for customs clearance? Interpretation of the latest policies in 2025

I. Alcoholic BeveragesExport RepresentationWhat professional qualifications are required?

According to the latest international trade regulations in 2025, professional alcohol export agents must possess:

• Dual - certification qualifications
  • Chinese Customs AEO Advanced Certified Enterprise
  • Import licenses for alcoholic beverages in the target country (such as the US TTB license, EU VI - 1 certificate)
• Ability to handle special documents
  • Certificate of origin (12 types of alcoholic beverages were added in the China - EU Geographical Indications Agreement in 2025)
  • HALAL certification for Islamic countries (for the export of spirits to the Middle East region)

II. What special regulations do different countries have for the import of alcoholic beverages?

Take the major markets in 2025 as an example:

• US Market
  • The alcohol concentration certificate needs to be accurate to 0.1%
  • The new regulations require the addition of QR - code traceability information on the bottle body
• European Union Market
  • Strict implementation of the vineyard registration system (effective in February 20241)
  • Organic - certified products need to submit an additional biodynamic method certificate

III. How to avoid common pitfalls in the customs clearance process?

According to the customs data statistics in the past three years, the main problems are concentrated in:

• Incorrect commodity classification
  • Confusion of HS codes for fruit wine and compounded wine (the tax rate difference is up to 8%)
  • Special - packaged alcoholic beverages are not declared separately (such as white liquor in porcelain bottles).
• Document flaws
  • Starting from 2025, 36 countries will start using electronic health certificates.
  • Japan requires Chinese/Japanese bilingual labels to be marked simultaneously.

IV. What are the special requirements for the transportation of alcoholic beverages?

Professional agents should provide:

• Full - process temperature - control solutions
  • The transportation of red wine needs to maintain a constant temperature of 12 - 18℃.
  • Explosion - proof certified containers for the transportation of spirits
• Special packaging standards
  • The German market mandatorily requires recyclable packaging.
  • Maritime TransportationIt needs to comply with Amendment 41 - 06 of the IMDG CODE.

V. What are the important changes in the tariff policy in 2025?

Key areas of concern:

• RCEP member states
  • The tariff on Australian wine is reduced to 3.5% (originally 14%).
  • The import tariff on South Korean sake is exempted (KREI certification is required).
• Exporters Warning: The US, UK and Other Countries Have Recently Launched Double - Anti Investigations on a Variety of Chinese Products | Shanghai Import/Export Agent
  • The EU launches a review of Chinese - produced alcoholic beverages with an alcohol concentration > 20%.
  • The United States suspends the implementation of the anti - dumping duty on white liquor in 2024.

VI. How to evaluate the professionalism of an agency company?

It is recommended to screen through three dimensions:

• Verification of the case database
  • Require the provision of export records of the same category in the past two years.
  • Verify the customs clearance time data of the target country (normally it should be 3 - 7 working days).
• Risk control system
  • Whether there is a professional inspection team (ISO 22000 certification).
  • Whether there is a pre - declaration system (to avoid container detention at the port of destination).